It's ridiculous to make successful coach pay

After all that June Jones has done in bringing big bucks to the university, he ends up owing the university $400,000 because he didn't fulfill his contract? I think if anything, the university should owe him instead. They didn't even consider giving him a little bonus for bringing the school its first WAC championship. No appreciation.

William Kapaku
Waianae

Financially, it can work out pretty well

June Jones is leaving and Herman Frazier is out. Let's do the math here. Jones writes a check to Frazier for $312,510 and a check to UH-Manoa for $87,498.

UH owes Frazier nothing and gets a chunk of change from Jones. Works for me.

Carol T. Chun
Honolulu

UH can be great if it spends money wisely

Come on, people, get over it! He's a football coach: a grown man who makes his living yelling at boys who are trying to play a game. Let him go to Dallas. Then, use the million-and-a-half bucks to do something noble, something great universities are supposed to do -- like maybe fund scholarships for dozens of deserving future doctors and lawyers. Well, doctors anyway.

Christopher G. Boucek
Honolulu

Let's put the Rainbow back in the name

No offense to June Jones, but just think how wonderful it would be to have our Rainbow Warriors back with the rainbow uniform. And with no offense to the players, but this is Hawaii, not any other Polynesian island. ... Could we have a Hawaii chant instead of the haka?

Patti Adolphson
Wahiawa

How about some loyalty to students?

UH officials somehow managed to pull together a $1.5 million contract, as well as make a promise to upgrade the athletic facilities, to keep a football coach who ended up leaving anyway. On his way out, he told us that the reason why he left was the lack of loyalty from the administration.

Can we, the loyal students of UH, expect to see that same kind of money for our own demands? I've been a student for more than three years now, and a lifelong supporter of UH. It's downright embarrassing to know that my school still has some of the worst dorms in the nation, a library that is now infamous for flooding, substandard equipment for every department and, yes, deplorable facilities that include (but are not limited to) athletics. The full list of grievances extends well past what I can fit in a letter to the editor.

How can UH find the money to appeal to a football coach but not find the money to keep its true benefactors, and by that I mean the students, satisfied with decent learning conditions? Talk about lack of loyalty.

Come on, UH. I'll always be loyal. I promise I'll never go away to SMU. Now can you please do something to fix my beloved alma mater already?

Stacy Harada
Honolulu

State isn't holding funds from symphony

I would like to correct information in city Director of Enterprise Services Sidney Quintal's Jan. 7 letter to the editor regarding a $4 million grant-in-aid from the state for the Honolulu Symphony Endowment Fund.

Quintal asserted that the state is "holding back" funds for the symphony. He is dead wrong. To help the public understand what is happening, here are the facts.

On Dec. 30, 2006, in keeping with a bill passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Linda Lingle earlier that year, the governor allotted $4 million to the Department of Accounting and General Services to deposit into the endowment fund for the Honolulu Symphony.

The legislation that authorized this grant stipulated that the interest from the endowment fund shall be used for the symphony, "provided that the funds appropriated ... are matched, dollar-for-dollar, by private funds."

Thus, by law, the symphony can only receive the interest from the $4 million if it raises matching private donations. To further help the symphony, this past legislative session, the law was amended to include matching pledges.

The state supports the public's desire to see the Honolulu Symphony succeed, and we hope symphony officials achieve their goal of raising private funds and pledges so they can be matched by state funds.

Clearly, the state is not holding back any funds. I wish Quintal would have taken the time to verify the facts before speaking.

Russ K. Saito
State comptroller
Department of Accounting and General Services

Give city workers credit where it's due

I took the advice of Laverne Higa, city director of facility maintenance, and called the city pothole line (768-7777) the other day to report some potholes on 21st Avenue between Luawai Street and Harding Avenue. Much to my satisfaction, the potholes have been filled.

As a resident of East Honolulu, I also have occasion to drive along Harding, University Avenue and Ala Wai Boulevard and have made note that they've all been redone and are a nice smooth surface under my tires. I know that not all the city and state roads are perfect, but they certainly are not as Third World as some people suggest.

I just want to thank Mayor Mufi Hannemann and the city workers who I know are out there every day taking care of what needs to be done for our streets, our sewers and our parks.

Joseph Lee
Hawaii Kai

Is Superferry wanted on Maui or not?

In a newscast on Saturday, the Army National Guard was thanking the Hawaii Superferry for allowing it to take over construction equipment to help the people of Maui ("Superferry to carry Guard gear to Maui," Star-Bulletin, Jan. 7). A recent rainstorm has caused damage to the county. It is a good thing that the Army National Guard, doing things as going to war, is able to help the people of Maui.

During the same newscast, the mayor of Maui was denouncing the Superferry for not notifying her about a change in schedule. Strange situation -- it seems that you would want to have the Guard there but not the other citizens of this state. You need to decide if you want the Superferry to travel there when it helps others or just to help your agenda.

Bert Chikazawa
Mililani

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